Tales of Frankenstein (1958)
*** (out of 4)
Hammer originally produced this as a TV pilot but when it didn't sell they just threw it into theaters as a short and it turned out to be a pretty good one. Dr. Frankenstein creates a monster but accidentally uses a criminal's brain. He gets a chance to correct the mistake when a man dies after his wife begged the doctor to keep him alive. The doctor decides to put the dead man's brain into the body of the monster. I can understand this thing not selling as a TV pilot because there's really no place to go but as a short the thing is quite the success and in the end turns out to be a rather effective version of the classic tale. What I enjoyed most was the actual monster who had a pretty good look and he's given quite a bit to do. I really enjoyed the first creation scene when the monster attacks Frankenstein only to have some electrical equipment to go crazy and give him a real shock. The stuff at the end, when the dead man remembers who he is, was also very effective. The make up was clearly trying to look like the Karloff version but the large actor and the puffy cheeks makes him look more like Chaney from THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN. The performances were good as is the direction so fans of the monster will certainly want to check this out.
*** (out of 4)
Hammer originally produced this as a TV pilot but when it didn't sell they just threw it into theaters as a short and it turned out to be a pretty good one. Dr. Frankenstein creates a monster but accidentally uses a criminal's brain. He gets a chance to correct the mistake when a man dies after his wife begged the doctor to keep him alive. The doctor decides to put the dead man's brain into the body of the monster. I can understand this thing not selling as a TV pilot because there's really no place to go but as a short the thing is quite the success and in the end turns out to be a rather effective version of the classic tale. What I enjoyed most was the actual monster who had a pretty good look and he's given quite a bit to do. I really enjoyed the first creation scene when the monster attacks Frankenstein only to have some electrical equipment to go crazy and give him a real shock. The stuff at the end, when the dead man remembers who he is, was also very effective. The make up was clearly trying to look like the Karloff version but the large actor and the puffy cheeks makes him look more like Chaney from THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN. The performances were good as is the direction so fans of the monster will certainly want to check this out.